Gillian Tong - The culture challenge

Internal communications – the discipline that grew out of old-style ‘employee relations’ and gradually moved from being an HR function to being very much part of the communications mix – has surely now come of age, and is generally recognised as an important part of any company’s communication activity. But for many people working in PR, especially agency PR, the work of an internal communicator remains a mystery. We spoke to Gillian Tong, formerly global head of internal comms at Deutsche Bank, to find out what being an internal communicator is all about.

By Emily Morrison

How did you get into internal communications?

Through being deputy head of press and public relations at the NHS where I was responsible for the internal and external communications for a new (then) organisation called ‘NHS Supplies’.

What did that involve?

A number of challenges, one of which was to unite a huge number of staff under one umbrella. Beforehand they were scattered across a large number of organisations.

How did you go about that?

Engaging with employees was the main priority. They needed to know where they fitted into the larger picture and the new organisation. We needed to explain the new and exciting challenges ahead and how they would benefit and the benefits to the company. Understanding the different ‘channels’ of communication was crucial. How could I best reach these people in the most effective way?

How do you bridge the gap between senior management and employees?

It involves having to be able to join up dots other people may not see. Senior management are often unaware of the messages that need to be voiced or they may not be able to communicate them across in the most effective way. Internal communications should be that bridge.

How do you advise senior management to communicate in the most effective way?

We do it through a number of workshops, presentations and tool kits that are tailored for different scenarios.

Do you have to do this when making redundancies, for example?

Yes, it is much less of a challenge if senior management are aware of the approach that needs to be taken.

And what is that approach?

You have to know how to craft a message that explains why you have made the decision, and exactly what will happen, as well as maintaining an emotional tone that conveys a voice of concern. The key is to keep it consistent.

What is one of the main challenges when doing internal communications for a global organisation?

Cultural differences.

How does corporate culture come into it?

Nowadays offices are full of people from different backgrounds and cultures. And my clients have often not been UK-based organisations either. Therefore, as an internal communicator, you have to be aware of cultureal differences.

What kind of differences? Can you give an example?

One classic example was when I ran a focus group in another country, I was hoping to get some kind of debate going but there was no response.

Why was that?

Well I learnt afterwards that often in other cultures, people don’t like talking about work in public, they prefer to do it one-on-one, so that explained the cringeworthy silence!

Another example?

When I was in Japan, I came to realise the power of hierarchy in the corporate culture. Some employees were uncomfortable talking about work in front of people more senior than themselves.

How did you solve that problem?

I did something that you would always try to avoid doing when running focus groups. We organised groups of employees of a similar status so nobody felt that they were speaking out of turn.

What lessons did you learn?

If possible, to visit the country concerned. If you can’t, get in touch with someone locally to pick their brains on what works well. No one is expecting you to know about cultural sensitivities in every country, but you can be expected to find out.

What’s the secret of communicating across different cultures?

To use the most effective channel in each local situation.

What do you mean by that?

Quite simply, some channels, or methods, of communication work better in some places than others. For example, in internal comms, you might use e-mail, briefings, house magazines, the intarnet, posters, even good old-fashioned letters. You would select the appropriate channel for your audience.

Can you give me an example?

Once I sent a lot of posters to one country, communicating some important information from the group headquarters. The only problem was there were no noticeboards in the offices. Noticeboards weren’t a common way of communicating with staff there as they often are in the UK. It would have been more appropriate to have written to those employees individually. It’s a cultural thing. You have to ensure the communication channel is one that your audience is familiar and comfortable with.